We are living and dying from the invisible violence of the corona virus. By Earth Day April 22, 2020 the virus has resulted in more U.S. deaths in 2020 than are killed in car crashes in an average year.
I have just written an article published by Legal Reader on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.
The idealism of the months after the first Earth Day that I observed was exciting. I had the privilege of participating in the Clean Air Car Race that summer. I described my experience at
The idealism expressed on and after Earth Day was soon subverted. Months later the loss of Public Health protections began under the Nixon Administration. The Nixon Administration transferred the air pollution program, in which I worked, from the PHS to the new EPA at the end of 1970.
EPA managers were heard to make sick jokes celebrating the downgrading of the mission from protecting people to protecting birds and bunnies.
Within a year, auto company executives were meeting with Nixon seeking relief from auto standards on air pollution and safety. See
We live in an era of danger from the invisible violence of the corona virus. And in danger from more than 40 years of corporate capture of many regulatory agencies including NHTSA.
We increasingly need information to protect ourselves.
As the people of the U.S. approach our 4 millionth death and billionth injury from vehicular violence there is one valuable source of safety information available to us.
I have just written an article published by Legal Reader on the new 2020 Car Book.
I think of the Car Book as a Tragedy Preventer. If you think I am exaggerating read the article and the evidence. It is at
Violations of the Emoluments Clause? The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty reports on Speaker Pelosi’s remarks:
“Asked whether all of that is sufficient fodder for articles of impeachment against the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) earlier this week told a group of columnists: ‘There’s no question about that, right? We’ve had enough for a very long time. No, I think we have enough. But as long as there’s corroboration, we might as well get some more.’”
The bigger challenge, she suggested, may be deciding what not to include. One thing that is not likely to make the cut, she said, is Trump’s apparent violation of what he calls the “phony emoluments clause” — which is the Constitution’s very clear ban on government officials’ accepting gifts or payments “from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” 1
Public Sentiment? The Washington Post also posted a column on Speaker Pelosi’s thinking by Lincoln biographer Sidney Blumenthal:
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Image by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, no changes.
“Whatever Pelosi’s speculative tactical scenario, her account of Lincoln’s ideas about public opinion is badly mistaken. ‘With public sentiment, nothing can fail,’ Lincoln said. ‘Without it, nothing can succeed.’ Critically, however, Pelosi sees public opinion as something to follow. Lincoln saw it as something to shape.” 2
What Will Public Sentiment Be? If Dems ignore the elephant of Big Invisible Global (BIG) money in the room, will that be seen as protecting Biden and other past, present and future officials?
Public sentiment will be influenced by what is included and not included in the articles of impeachment.
If we don’t follow the money, we will not be able to make sufficient progress on our existential threats.
As I reported in Legal Reader last year, we the people, face existential threats including the Climate Crisis, Inequality, Instability and Injustice. 3
Each of us must do our part to build a progressive public sentiment, before it is too late.
“As President Trump intensified his public campaign Monday against the whistleblower whose anonymous complaint about the commander in chief helped spark an impeachment inquiry, legal analysts warned the person might soon face a grim reality.
Federal laws offer only limited protection for those in the intelligence community who report wrongdoing — even when they follow all the rules for doing so. Trump and his allies, analysts said, might face few, if any consequences, for outing the whistleblower or otherwise upending the person’s career.
“If he wants to destroy this person’s life,” said whistleblower attorney Bradley P. Moss, “there’s not a lot to stop him right now.” 2
Whistleblowers: Protectors of the People
When whistleblowers are unprotected, we all are unprotected and we all suffer. As I reported in Legal Reader last year, we the people, face existential threats including the Climate Crisis, Inequality, and Injustice. 3
Nearly 50 years ago I blew the whistle on the Nixon Administration for weakening automotive air pollution standards.
Months later I was fired from EPA under its first (and then 5th) Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus and we have all had to breathe more auto caused air pollution for nearly 50 years. 4
Politicians, however, protect themselves very well.
Reagan appointed Anne Gorsuch Burford to be the 4th EPA Administrator. She continued deregulation and was held in contempt of Congress. But her son is now Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Neal Gorsuch.
Reagan then appointed Ruckelshaus to be the 5th EPA Administrator.
Later George W. Bush appointed Christine Todd Whitman to head EPA. She was caught lying to the American people about their safety from air pollution from the September 11 attacks.
Today under Trump, EPA heads Scott Pruitt and Andrew R. Wheeler have taken deregulatory steps to lower already inadequate levels of protections of the people
We the people suffer to this day. See how primarily Republican policies harm us all. 5
Note, I say primarily because President Obama awarded Ruckelshaus the Medal of Freedom after Ruckelshaus endorsed Obama in 2008 and Hillary in 2016 6
Who Will Protect Us Now?
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren speaking with attendees at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention at the George R. Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. Image by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, no changes.
Since 1777, the need to protect Whistleblowers has been recognized by Congress. 7
Senator Elizabeth Warren has an Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act that has many needed provisions, but presently lacks a Whistleblower Protection provision. Will she and other Presidential candidates step forward to protect whistleblowers and all of us now?
Two Moms, who lost daughters due to truck underride, organized public crash tests of cars into truck trailers – with and without lifesaving underride guards – to demonstrate need for passage of federal STOP Underrides! legislation…
Because No One Needs to Die Like This!
Car trapped under semi-trailer; image courtesy of author.
Relatives of truck underride crash victims held a public crash testing of cars into tractor-trailers — with and without lifesaving underride prevention technology. The underride crash victims’ families hail from North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Colorado, New York, South Carolina and Louisville KY metro area.
They were joined by members of Congress and vehicle safety engineering experts.
Two side impact guard systems were tested: AngelWing and SafetySkirt. The crash tests provided a rare opportunity to witness firsthand the importance of the bipartisan/bicameral STOP Underrides! legislation, S.665 & HR 1511, that was introduced in Congress earlier this month.
In attendance were:
Marianne Karthof Raleigh, NC. On May 4, 2013, a truck collided with her family car on I-20 in Georgia, forcing their vehicle to spin around and crash under a truck trailer in front of them. Her daughters AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13) were in the back seat. AnnaLeah died instantly and Mary a few days later. Marianne’s husband Jerry and daughter Susanna accompanied her at this crash test demonstration.
Lois Durso of Marco Island, Florida. On Thanksgiving Day November 24, 2004, her daughter Roya and fiancé were involved in a truck underride crash in Michigan City, Indiana causing fatal injuries to her daughter.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the STOP Underrides! bill.
Underride Q&A Panelists:
David Friedman, Vice President for Advocacy at Consumer Reports, former CR Director of Cars and Product Policy and Analysis, former Acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Malcolm Deighton, engineer with Hydro, which supplies materials for manufacturing underride protective devices and trailer parts, and which produces comprehensive underride protection technology in Europe.
Glen Berry, Safety Director for Thomas Transport Delivery and truck driver with an AngelWing installed underride guard since 2017.
Other victim families were available for interviews:
Christa Hammack lost her daughter, Erin Alexander, in a side underride crash on May 4, 2018, in Texas. Christa lives in southern Indiana near Louisville, KY.
Katie Strader of Loveland, CO, lost her dad, Rod Cota, an ambulance worker, in a side underride crash on July 6, 2017, in New York (which caught bill sponsor Senator Gillibrand’s attention).
Eric Hein whose son, Riley Hein, died in a side underride crash in New Mexico.
Also available is a link to YouTube with previous underride crash testing video, photos of crashes and victims, and soundbites of relatives of crash victims, for your free and unrestricted use:
SAVE LIVES – STOP UNDERRIDES video, courtesy of Cool Breeze Studios.
More information on “STOP Underrides! Legislation (S.665 and HR 1511), a bill to reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries caused by underride crashes:
S.665 was introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and is cosponsored by Senators Marco Rubio (FL), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Ed Markey (MA), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Gary Peters (MI), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Ron Wyden (OR), Tom Udall (NM), and Cory Booker (NJ). The bill was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
HR 1511 was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen (TN) and referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, chaired by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC).
Having worked for the health and safety of the people since coming to Washington in 1966 to work on air pollution control, and later on auto safety, I have seen some successes and some progress, but not enough.
I have been working to get the word out through research and advocacy for more progress since I left government.
The last election gives us some hope for further progress as after January 2019, we no longer will have both Houses of Congress under control of the Republican Party.
Legal Reader has kindly published an article I submitted pro bono that notes existential threats why the public must persist. See it at
Over my more than 50 years working to advance the safety, health, and happiness of all Americans, I have never seen our national government sink so low as it has now. It is not just auto safety. As I point out it includes Climate Change, Inequality, and Injustice.
When I came to Washington, as a naive Goldwater Republican, in 1966 to work on air pollution control in the U.S. Public Health Service, I was privileged to work with many honest and dedicated people. I was able to help reduce automotive emissions of lead and carbon monoxide. But political power soon came with President Nixon to undermine governmental efforts to reduce pollution control. See documentation at https://www.legalreader.com/50-years-of-legal-climate-change/
Again I was blessed to work with honest, dedicated and talented people to improve auto safety albeit for a too brief period of 3 years during the Carter Administration. Then President Reagan was elected on the slogan “Make America Great Again”. Under Reagan the air bag rule was rescinded, and NHTSA was reduced by 33% eliminating 300 people. NHTSA to this day is still at the reduced Reagan level despite 8 years of Clinton and 8 years of Obama. It took until 1983 for the Supreme Court to over rule the Reagan Administration’s rescission of the air bag rule. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/UnitedStatesSupremeCourtAirbagDecision.pdf
